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Cavalier puppies in AR

Hi. I am with an all breed rescue group in Hot Springs, AR. In the past two months we have had several cavalier puppies find their way into our program. What is happening is that there is a breeder nearby. She uses the same vet for her dogs as we do for our rescues. When she gets a dog/puppy returned from a pet store, she takes them to our mutual vet for............whatever (read between the lines). Our vet does all the necessary medical and gives them to us to find quality homes. For example, the last ones we got were 4 male cavaliers that were shipped back due to kennel cough and giardia. Poor little guys. They were only 12 weeks old. So, they were treated and went into our foster homes until well enough to be adopted.

Now we have 3 more puppies and a 4 yr. old female who apparently was not a good mom. The pups were returned this time due to a soft spot on their head. Our vet said that it will close with time. We are looking for more great quality homes for these guys. They are 12 weeks old and will be altered before adoptions. Of the puppies, 2 are male and one female.

Please contact me. I live in Little Rock and have two cavs; one is a rescue/owner surrender from my vet. I just discussed this issue with a friend yesterday as the cav rescue she'd had for the past several years died.

I go to Hot Springs regularly and was there on Wednesday, as a matter of fact. Send me a pm and maybe I can help find loving forever-homes or fosters.

I'd be a bit concerned about a vet okaying these puppies to be homed before their skulls have fully closed over. First, this is sometimes an indication that the puppy has hydrocephalus, which can be very serious. Second, the opening doesn't always close and good breeders generally will not release a puppy until the opening is closed. I would suggest the pups remain in foster until those openings close -- especially if more than one in the litter has this soft spot which makes this sound potentially a real issue of an inherited problem (eg something like hydrocephalus)rather than an odd once-off. Or the people taking on such pupies need to know the potential for serious problems (eg if the opening doesn;t fully close any impact to that area could kill the dog). You might want to talk to a reputable cavalier breeder about how to proceed and best practivce for homing but personally I would not home excpet to experienced homes well aware that their could be problems.

The vet has not "released" these pups for adoption yet. As with most puppymill pups, they were separated from their mom too early. Additionally, they were transported to the broker and then returned to the mill. They are still under evaluation with the vet and may be neutered/spayed in the next week or two. They will not be considered for adoption until the vet has completed her evaluation, diagnosis, and recommended treatment, if needed.

The rescue organization realizes that Cavaliers need lots of human companionship and plan on placing these dogs with families who have or had cavaliers as pets.

I have communicated with KAB via PMs, emails, and on the phone. Not only is she passionate about animal rescue, her organization has strict adoptive family placement guidelines and standards. Additionally, I have found her to be particularly sensitive to the needs of Cavaliers.

That's great; I'd still be very concerned about open skulls in a *group* of pups rather than just one as this is quite rare as is and usually only happens to runts unless there is some genetic issue like hydrocephalus. Hence the extreme caution with pups like this, as any good breeder will advise.

Mic -- I also need you to reduce your avatar down as it is about a fourth again larger than the max. width -- the size of mine is the maximum size (set at that size as it works best for the largest nu ber of people on the board, by concensus discussion ); there are directions on how to do this in the Getting Started section. Thanks!

KAB and Mic,
My "runt" Flora had an open skull until just a month or two ago. My vet was quite surprised that it continued to close as long as it did - guess we were lucky. I got her from my breeder - who is a friend - because she knew we would closely monitor the situation. I'm so glad you have a vet that is taking such good care of the babies. If you run into difficulties with fostering, I'm sure a call or e-mail to Lucky Star would go a long way to helping you out. In fact, they might be a good resource for you in the future. Good luck with the pups, et al. Please keep us posted on their situation. Thanks for all you are doing.
JaneB

Thanks for the encourgement, Jane! This group has the fostering part under control, and has a good network and system for placing pets in new, loving homes. But with Cavaliers, they have a more stringent protocol. They do not "advertise" cavs on their petfinder list and want to place them with people who have cavalier or have had them in the past. They will not place a cav with someone who works full time since this breed is so dependent on human companionship and interaction.

They currently have two cavs that have been vet cleared from a previous case of giardia. No soft spots or other medical problems. Three other pups are at the vet under her supervision for the open fontanel issue. They are not cleared for adoption at this time. Additionally, they have a 4 y/o that wasn't a "good producer" and is no longer wanted by the miller.

I'll certainly keep you posted on the pups with the soft spot since you have dealt with this condition. I'm so glad your Flora is doing well and hope that the three we're dealing with are as lucky!